Hephaestus

Greek mythology · deity · the forge, fire, craftsmanship

The lame smith god, cast from Olympus in infancy, who returned to build the gods' palaces, Achilles' shield, and Pandora herself. In Hesiod, Hera bears him alone in retaliation for Athena, one of the traditions' pointed disagreements.

Stories

Pandora's Jar

To repay the theft of fire, Zeus orders Hephaestus to shape a woman of clay, beautiful and inescapable. Epimetheus ignores his brother Prometheus's warning and takes her in; Pandora lifts the lid of her jar, every evil flies loose into the world, and only hope is left beneath the rim.